Chapter 3

That night passed rather uneventfully for Noldar. He ate his fill of the seemingly endless supply of meat stashed within the magic pockets of his backpack and then attempted to rest next to the warmth of the fire. His sleep was restful, though he did find himself suddenly shooting awake in the middle of the night a few times. He felt that he was still mentally shocked over what had been happening over the last day.


When Rook returned, events came into a blur for Noldar over the next four days, only except one instance. The Lycanroc took him to True Alchemy once more, but only to make use of the magical properties of the door. With a sequence of taps he made to the frame, it opened up to a completely different city than Lapis. Balthazar only gave them a quaint “Good morning!” as they left. 


Whatever city he took him to, it was suddenly late evening rather than morning. 


“Welcome to Au’rat.” Rook told him lightly before gently tugging on the rope he was using as Noldar’s ‘leash’ between their bodies, and starting to trot to the right as the door began closing behind them. 


“Heeeey~, Reddy…” 


Rook came to a stop just as the door to True Alchemy closed behind them, someone was leaning against the building as the door had closed. The voice was playful, though the tone delivered was enough for Noldar to even guess they had been expecting Rook to show. 


“I know I’ve told you the reasons why I don’t like that, counselor.” Rook growled back at the individual, unturning, though Noldar did turn himself to look. 


It was an elf, wearing an oddly patterned cloak of green and brown, triangles among rectangles. Their features didn’t stand out much from other elves Noldar had seen, though his golden yellow eyes held a certain kind of calculating look. 


“The council wanted me to tell you-”


“Whatever your magistrate has for me I, and Balthazar, want nothing of it.” Rook quickly growled without turning still. Noldar’s eyes flicked towards the canine and he was quick to realize the somewhat cold reception the wolfman was giving. “I would think our last interaction with them would show that they lack much in “friendship” with us.” 


“They are in the same boat you are though!” The elf huffed back, their voice lost the playful tone, and Rook let out a gruff snort. From where he was beside him, Noldar saw a smirk creep along the wolf’s muzzle. 


“Are they? That is what they like to think, isn’t it…?” Rook paused, that grin still on his muzzle. “Tell them to start standing on the water, the enchants on their boots should work for that, yes?”


“Magic magic magic…” The elf shook their head. “Life-”


“Life takes care of itself.” Rook growled, his smile vanishing, and now he did turn his head to fix one of his purple eyes upon the elf behind him. “Just as Death does.”


The elf grinned suddenly and he giggled, demeanor shifting to that more playful tone again while they lifted their hands up and put their hands behind their head, grinning. “Hehe, I figured, one step ahead like always! That’s fine, I’ll take my leave then.” 


With that said, the elf turned, his coat swishing about behind him as he readily started to walk away, hands lowering down and slipping into pockets there as he let out a giggle.


Noldar watched them walk and vanish among the river of people walking the streets around them, before he turned his head up to Rook. “What was that about?” 


Rook had been watching the elf trot away as well, and he looked down to his Kobold, before taking in a deep breath and sighing, “Just a friend.” 


“Seems doubtful, the way you speak to each other.” Noldar pointed out as he began stepping with Rook.


“My life is my own Noldar.” Rook rumbled, giving him a slight smile, “Who he is won’t be important. You’ll likely not see him again.” 


“Why is that?” Noldar pondered. 


To this, Rook rumbled, “Because you may be dead within the year, and I don’t expect to see him again for several more.” 


Noldar’s eyes widened, at which Rook started to laugh, “Relax! I’m just pulling your…rope.” He growled, tugging on the few feet of rope that connected Noldar’s belt to the Lycanroc’s own, and after this, Noldar decided to spend the rest of the trip through the city in silence.


This was the only moment of worth that Noldar really dwelled over the four days that went by. Between hours of sparring, and the Lycanroc’s nightly needs, there was not much that he could really focus on. Noldar actually somewhat realized that he’d quickly settled into this new role…being used nightly by the Lycanroc, that thick knot shoved into him each night in gasps of shared orgasmic bliss, only to change into the daily view as the two of them mercilessly trained in the sandy hills Rook hid his den for this city in.


This simple interaction with this random elf stuck with Noldar though, until at least, on the forth night, just a little after Rook’s curse had struck and they handled it together, while laying together in the bedroll, did Noldar try to breach onto the subject of who all exactly Rook -was-.

The conversation that had followed had been many things, but the life Rook told to him seemed to hold up. While he mentioned nothing about the elf, perhaps because he was either still withholding it or found it not important to telling the kobold what his life was like,  Rook instead told Noldar more about where he had grown up. His village had been a simple kind, his family what he deemed to be “a normal village family, a man and women who loved each other and who had a child together.”, which was himself. 

Their village was a mining village, their tunnels dug deep into the earth. Gems and other minerals were traded off to cities days away for food and other goods. That was their life, and it was as good as it could have been for Rook. As a teenager, he began working in the mines with his father. There were few other people in the village whom his parents trusted deeply enough that they themselves were also like family even though they were not blood.


And then the Beastchange happened. People all across the world were shifted, changed, morphed into new bodies that felt familiar but not the same. For Rook’s village, almost everyone became wolfmen, which Rook commented that he believed that the Beastchange was a calculated thing because of it, considering the rocky mountain environment of his village, the chosen forms for them had been well suited for the cold. They were as large and as beastly looking as werewolves were known to be, but not actually werewolves. While his own village grappled to understand what had occurred to them, the rest of the world exploded into chaos.


Unfortunately, for those cities near their village, panic ensued. Several millions of people all across the world that changed into beast forms were killed by those too scared to listen to reason. Noldar knew some of this time, even though it had happened before his own birth. People in control were simply unable to keep the peace or otherwise entered the panic themselves; mobs lynched and destroyed whole families who had changed, fearful that it was something in the bloodline of the humans who’d have a family member change. For those in power who were suddenly changed, huge shifts in society were triggered.


Those same mobs marched out from cities too and onto the villages next to them, and Rook’s was one of them. A single day after the change, while his family was still trying to figure it all out themselves, a veritable army of soldiers descended upon his village. Just as Rook had told Noldar before, he repeated it, “They refused to listen to the words we spoke.” 


Rook’s father and mother were murdered by the mob, he himself had been near the mines when it happened, and he was pulled away by others of the village into the safety of the mines. They barricaded themselves into a supply cave, where they hid for a few days, the carefully etched ventilations tunnels providing air. But outside, the army razed their village to the ground, and left the bodies to be buried under the snowfall. The body of his mother and father he found dead within his home. 


His village's shamen convinced Rook and the other survivors of his village to seek their righteous revenge with them, and through a ritual, they communed with the spirits of the elements, and surrendered their bodies to them in exchange for their power but…something about the Beastchange itself had changed how such rituals also affected the elements, or their reaction to their forms. That was all Rook could say of it, saying that both Balthazar and himself truly had no idea what it was and couldn’t find any references to say one way or the other. Something about their new forms sent the elements themselves into a frenzy. Instead of being given their power for a short time to enact their vengeance, those spirits became permanently attached to their own essence. A surprise to even the elements themselves.


Yet allow their vengeance they still did. Rook and the remnants of his village raided the city that had attacked them, and left it in ruins, just the same as they had done to them. Humans, other Beastmen, it hadn’t mattered, vengeance was red in their eyes and that was all they had cared for. 


Rook broke free of that vengeance a year later, making the agreement he had made to the god of the moon as he already told Noldar. His family, however, continued on their dangerous rampage. It was only after Rook managed to kill one of them, that the rest of them went into hiding, but occasionally Rook heard rumors, whispers of them killing more in other places, but by the time he’d go to check out such places himself, they’d be gone. 


So it was that Rook was on his current journey, attempting to build up enough wealth to buy the use of the divining equipment to tell him where the others were going to be, so that he could wait to confront them rather than trying to play catch up. Typical fortune telling and divination equipment wasn’t capable of piercing through the “fog” that the elementals caused, he needed something far more powerful. 


The cash necessary to buy the use of those tools was exorbitant, more so due to who was in control of them. A greedy individual who, as Rook described them in his own view, was catered to by those around them. Their own goals were only to be allowed their own pleasure. Pure hedonism, it seemed.  


Nodlar questioned again why Rook did not contemplate stealing the devices; to which Rook explained further; “Stealing is not something that is an option to me. This individual is a very powerful man, as horrible and self centered as they are, they do not kill or engage in violence against their fellows. They provide them with food and places of warmth in return for their services. Their system is self absorbed…yes…but it functions as long as those within it accept giving their service for that livelihood. Stealing is thereby not logical to me, for he has not truly done anything worth the action.” 


“It sounds to me more like he’s keeping slaves of his own.” Noldar countered, and Rook tilted his head left and right in thought with a hum. 


“To the outside…perhaps it would look as such, however, the people he keeps seem solely endeared to giving him their service without qualm. If it is slavery, they themselves don’t see it as such. They execute upon his orders without thought to what those orders may mean for them afterwards. I have never seen him order them to harm themselves, but my time around them has only ever been very brief. Although…it is also true that I do not know what happens to those who begin to rethink their giving such loyalty…” 


It was something that Rook decided he needed to find out more information on then, perhaps stealing could become an option. 


For that moment though, they’d continue on his already decided path; fetching the money this individual charged for using his instruments.


“What about the elf?” Noldar asked, without really thinking to stop the question or how prodding it was upon the Lycanroc’s personal affairs. 


Rook flicked his ears at the question, and a long period of silence followed before Rook sighed, “I will tell you a few things about him if it will somewhat reduce the curiosity I know you’ve had over the last several days.” 


When Noldar gave a light nod in agreement, Rook closed his eyes again as he continued, “That elf is a friend, or at least, that is what he likes to call himself. In the past, he has appeared to try and offer me advice, only to typically find that I already know what it is he’s trying to offer. He tells me he serves an elf king, like King Tren’bron, in a very small kingdom that is hidden from the world, but he won’t tell me where it is or who exactly that king is.”


“You had said to him “Given our last interaction, we’re not much for being friends.” what did you mean by that?” 


There, Rook opened his eyes and he gave the Kobold a neutral stare for a good five seconds, before he held up his own paw. “In my quests, I chanced upon some information that led me and Balthazar to finding a series of Ley Lines, which was then the first time he appeared to me while attempting to follow them to their source. Questions led to questions, until I found out - that he and his kingdom were the ones responsible for the Beastchange, and that it wasn’t an accident. It was done purposefully. I raged, I felt that I had something to which I could place blame to…I fought him, yet that elf…his powers…they go beyond mine. He told me he, and those with him, were our friends, and what was done, was done to help. He vanished, and since then has only appeared to try and offer advice when I needed it.”


“But what of a few days ago? It sounded as if they needed your help now.” 


“They do. Because Death comes for their king.” Rook said flatly. 


Noldar’s eyes widened, and Rook continued, “In our last interaction, the elf attempted to ask me for my essence, so that they might extract the gift of immortality from it to save their king who has developed an illness that will eventually kill him. I refuse, and given the nature of that, my refusal to provide willingly denies them the option they seek. As it stands, I ponder if my end goal, which will remove my immortality, will become stone walled by them. It’s possible that their purposeful casting of the Beastchange was in fact to bring about my own immortality, I would not doubt that they have similar instruments to deciphering the future that I’m interested in too. I believe they constantly are watching me now, in some manner, and know of my quest. But that I will deal with if it ever passes.” 


Another moment of silence passed before Rook grunted and reached over to poke the Kobold on the nose with a single finger, making him stammer and wriggle his snout in reaction. “Now that you’ve pried into far more than you need to know, let's get to training, the tournament is tomorrow.” 


_________________________


Noldar felt oddly calm standing among the many other fighters of the coliseum. From burly Dragonborns and big burly Ursine men to the comparably tiny humans, himself, and a few Gnomes. Everyone wore interesting and sturdy looking equipment and armor. 


He wondered if it was that his previous experience in slave fighting rings made this feel familiar, but it was his first time taking part in something that was as seriously organized as this tournament. There were thousands of fighters…and several arena’s in the gladiator focused city would all be used at the same time to host the varied battles all at the same time. 


The city was alive with activity. On their way to this meeting place for fighters, aside from the many warriors that had yet to gather in the meeting place, Noldar noted several wealthy looking patrons and nobles. The prize money for the tournament was listed at 250,000 gold, and with only 10 gold as an entry fee. That and the sheer number of fighters that were gathering gave Noldar the belief that this was a hosted event. Even with as many as had shown up, there was no way all those small fees gave such a large sum. 


Rook did confirm this to Noldar; it was an event that was held every three years, as a chance for aspiring mercenaries, fighters, warriors, and gladiators to stand out among themselves and gain notoriety, which was his original purpose in coming. The caveat to the tournament was that it was done as teams of two, something that Rook’s curse prevented him from participating in the past.


Even right then, having Noldar beside him, the legend that hung above Rook was drawing eyes, stares, and occasionally, a loud jeer from somewhere out in the crowd. “Red Beast!”


Rook ignored these. In fact ever since he and Noldar had joined the crowds waiting for the master of ceremonies to address the gathered fighters, Rook made a point of closing his eyes and keeping his arms crossed over his chest whenever someone shouted out such comments. So far, only jeers had been thrown at him, and Noldar had the feeling the only reason some were willing to do so was because the numbers in the crowd kept them hidden. 


Noldar though, was rather thankful for Rook’s reputation, as it caused the gathered warriors to give the large red wolfman a large amount of space in trying to stay away from being too close to them, while they themselves mingled with only a few separating themselves. Claustrophobic situations were still not something Noldar had much interest in experiencing, he’d had enough of being stuck in tight spaces for long periods. If anyone seeing Rook found the kobold standing next to him to be a strange sight, they kept it to themselves.


At least, until a pair of elves (Why did it always seem to be elves?) stood at the edge of the circle that the fighter’s were leaving open around Rook and Noldar. They began speaking to each other in Elvish while staring directly at Rook. 


Whatever it was they were saying, Rook seemed to pick up on some of it as he suddenly said, “I’m not a ‘cursed’ being. You’re not the first elves to think I must be killed, and you wouldn’t be the first ones I’d be forced to kill in defense of myself.” 


The two elves looked at each other in surprise, with Noldar looking up at Rook for what he said and then to the elves as he’d finally noticed them himself. Both of them wore similar looking leather outfits, with the female having a bow and arrow strapped to her back and daggers at her waist. The male had a sword and shield, strapped to the back of a large backpack that clearly held all their supplies. He must have been very strong to hold that much… 


“Forgive us…even as loners we find it hard to ignore the oddities of the world…” The female said, her voice soft and gentle. “You are just a normal wolfman…it is just…difficult to ignore legends.” She was clearly trying to just cover over the conversation she and her companion had been having. 


“There is always some truth in legends…someone has to tell it for it to become known after all. It's through the repeated nature of tall tales that certain details become fogged…” Rook carefully returned, his eyes opening to stare at both of the elves.


Noldar found it difficult to feel if there was any tension here, as the female elf smiled and tilted her head as the male just continued to stare directly at Rook. The female chuckled brightly, “I doubt a beastly creature as those legends describe would keep the kind of company you are.” She looked down to Noldar briefly before she stepped forward and held her right hand out to them both, her companion stepped up along with her, his blue eyes never leaving Rook’s purple. 


“I am Gabrala. This is my brother…” 


The male held out his own hand as well while he mumbled out, “Tre’andra…” 


A few short seconds passed, but it appeared Rook was quick to process the attempt at friendliness that the elves were giving. He shook both of their hands shortly one at a time as he rumbled back, “Name’s Rook, my Kobold here is Noldar.” The wolfman nodded down at the Kobold, and Noldar reached out to shake their hands as well. 


“‘My Kobold’...” Gabrala repeated lightly, her eyes then noticing the length of rope that connected Rook’s belt to Noldar’s. 


“A slave, in the loosest of terms.” Rook told her, refolding his arms across his chest. 


“A well equipped one.” Tre’andra muttered beside his sister, eyeing the Kobold’s own weapons connected to his backpack. 


“Yes well, that’s why it’s the loosest of terms.” Rook couldn’t help the slight amusement that entered his voice.  


This developing conversation was suddenly blasted by the sound of a loud horn blaring through the coliseum, and the heads of all the gathered warriors turned towards the closed box that was up within the middle of a part of the stands. The stands were still empty, as viewers had not yet been allowed to fill the stands, but there was surely a large number of people waiting to get in and watch the many matches that were about to go on that day. 


“About damn time…” Rook growled as a man wearing expressive looking cloth clothing appeared from the stairs that led into the seatbox. “Gonna lose my window…” 


The Lycanroc’s comment reminded Noldar of something they had discussed earlier days before. The time difference between ‘home’ and here was three hours…the last several days Rook’s curse had hit at what was 7pm for this area…it was 9am right now, but there were thousands of participants for this tournament and even though several coliseums were going to be used at the same time, that did not leave much room for time…


They’d already discussed what they would do should time prove an issue. Rook would hold off his lust for as long as he could, he was confident that many opponents they’d come against would not prove any issues even if his lust suddenly spiked. They’d sneak off to a local inn between matches and take care of things there as quickly as they could and rush back…


Even thinking of such a situation made Noldar flush…missing the first few words as the human above them began thanking the gathered warriors for being there that day and began speaking. For some reason, even imagining the kind of harrowing situation they could potentially get into later that day gave Noldar a rush of excitement. 


‘I really need to learn some self control it seems…’ Noldar mentally admonished himself, ‘Never realized before how damn kinky I liked things…’


“In moments” The man’s voice pierced back into Noldar’s mind and he refocused up on him, “You will all be told where your bracket’s battles will be held. There are over 2,400 participants this year, and given you are all in pairs, that is over 1,200 battles to hold. As we probably all agree, no one has that much time that we’d like to spend. So things are done differently than usual tournaments. The first few rounds will be normal 2 on 2 battles. After these, there will be 300 teams remaining. The third and fourth rounds will have four teams fight in a free for all 2v2v2v2 fashion, After the third round, 75 teams shall remain. In the forth, with one fight having only three teams instead of four, the remaining number of teams should be 18. The final fifth round will be between these surviving teams here in this very coliseum, hopefully just before the end of daylight. There will be a large ring that your battles take place in. Your team wins by knocking both or all other opponents out of the ring or disabling them in such a way that they can no longer fight. While nothing except magic is outlawed, we ask that you avoid lethal force and try to avoid killing your opponents. Here in Au’rat we believe in valor and honor. Leave banditry to bandits and magic to the wizards.” The man tapped a roll of paper he had scrolled up in his hands on the end of the box and then unfurled it open, the list flopping down in a long flopping arc to end hanging over the wall of the stands. “Now, I will begin calling out names and where you are to go for your bracket.” 


_________________________


One by one the names of pairs of participants were called out and told what bracket they were in. Duos left the large coliseum one at a time. Hundreds of spectators now began filling the many coliseums as they were allowed in, and Noldar didn’t doubt that behind the scenes, a number of gambling games were being played by the nobles. 


The sheer number of teams there meant it was another half hour or so before Rook and Noldar’s names were finally called out and they were informed to go to coliseum four, where they and 199 other teams were to fight within several rings that had previously been created. Ten rings of fifty feet by fifty feet stone arenas all slightly raised off the ground. 


Rook and Noldar’s first fight was announced and held at around 11:30am. It was against a rotund human man and another thin human. They seemed to attempt much the same kind of set up as Rook and Noldar had, where one of them was big and burly while the other agile and quick. The thicker man wielded a large mace and the human two daggers.


They decided to follow the pattern and Rook took on the bigger man while Noldar the smaller. The fight did not last very long at all. Rook held far more strength than the human and he easily picked him up and threw him out of the ring, much to the hate of onlookers. Noldar had a slightly more difficult time, but the Kobold eventually caught the human’s arms with his spear and pushed him out of the ring.  Their second fight was similar a few hours after that. 


The third and fourth rounds went by much quicker, as the other three teams in both instances attempted to gang up on the bigger threat that Rook posed, and of course, the Lycanroc tossed them about quite easily. The only individual that had given them a bit of an issue had been a Dragonborn clad in thick plated armor with a sword and shield in the third round. There had been an instance in which Rook pulled his sword from his mane and the other contestants attempted to call foul on him for using magic, but Rook insisted that what he was doing was not magic, but his own unique way of storing his weapons, he even demonstrated his fur’s defensive power. When magic detecting devices failed to detect any hint of arcane or magical energy from his action, he was deemed legal, and Rook’s weapons made short work of the remainder of that fight. Unfortunately, this only gained them more ire from the other fighters…


Truly, Noldar began to feel that Rook only needed him there as a token so that he could participate at all, given the team style nature of the tournament. He had simply stayed behind Rook during the third and fourth rounds and let him do all the fighting; even rather, the other participants seemed to completely ignore him and viewed the wolfman as the more dangerous target. 


It wasn’t untrue, but it was frustrating all the same. 


It was about 5:30 pm when finally, the final battle between the 18 remaining teams was set to begin. 


Rook and Noldar were escorted to the larger coliseum that they and the other teams had been gathered in earlier that day. Within it, a huge and much larger ring that nearly took up the entirety of the stadium’s field had been constructed. 


Standing upon their section of the arena, Noldar looked over the seventeen other teams in thought. There were only two teams of pure humans among them. Five were beastmen of the feline variety; one of the few types of species that weren’t hunted down to near extinction fifty years ago…there were two teams of Dragonborn, and then there were three teams of Avians. There was a single team of two Gnomes; they wielded strange looking swords that glowed, not with magic but with some form of technology. The remaining four teams were all elves, one of which was Gabrala and her brother, Tre’andra. Noldar suddenly realized something and hissed. 


“There’s been no other Kobold’s in this tournament…” He huffed. 


“Indeed…though there have been no other Wolfkin either.” Rook lightly responded. “We are both species who aren’t very commonplace anywhere in the world. Yours prefers seclusion, while mine was hunted down.” 


“You should’ve stayed where you belonged, wolfbeast.” One of the other teams of elves snapped as they heard the pair speaking just within their earshot. “You’ve ransacked your way through your fights, you ruin the point of these.” 


Rook remained silent, for in this instance it seemed, Rook had no real ground to deny the allegation. Noldar knew that too. However, perhaps this fight would prove more of an interesting challenge, as he peered around again he took a new notice of how many of the teams were eyeballing him and Rook themselves. They were going to end up being ganged up on even more here, and if those sibling elves had made it this far, they must’ve also had some skill behind them like the rest of the teams.


“Rook…” Noldar whispered, “We’re going to get severely targeted here.” 


“I know, that’s why we’re going to try something I thought of a few fights ago.” Rook mumbled back and he knelt down, cupping his muzzle to whisper words into Noldar’s ear. 


Noldar listened and he nodded firmly. The plan was sound, and it actually took his ability to assist Rook into deep consideration. Noldar pondered what the sight of their plan would cause others there to think. 


The crowd gathered within the stands were cheering and shouting out many things, but suddenly there was also a loud splat as a rather ripe tomato landed just a few feet away from Rook and Noldar. Both of them looked at the smelly piece of food and then towards the stands around them. As they did, a section of it all booed at them. 


“You’ve riled them up.” Noldar chuckled next to Rook. The moment earlier when Rook had to defend his weapons and fur had gained them quite a group of haters…


“An unfortunate result of having more power than normal folks…but what I do is not magic, it is merely me.” Rook huffed, closing his eyes again and returning to his normal stance with his arms crossed. “I care not for how the many nameless people of the world view me…as long as I have my few allies and my dens, I have all I need.”


“That and food.” Noldar added.


Rook snorted with a smirk. “Yes I suppose food too.” He opened his eyes again, this time looking towards the sun that was slowly creeping towards the edges of the coliseums walls. “This battle better begin soon…we’re tempting time…” 


____________________


Things definitely had not been on their side. 


Certainly, things seemed fine when the battle finally was allowed to start after the master of ceremony had returned and after a short announcement of the final round starting, they quickly assumed their planned tactic. 


Noldar climbed up onto Rook’s back and, with his spear, he kept the Lycanroc from becoming completely surrounded because, just as they had suspected, several of the nearby teams and those across from them immediately ran at them. Rook was allowed to focus on the foes right in front of them. One by one, they were able to force out their opponents, with Rook breaking an arm a few times to otherwise disable them…thankfully medics with healing magic were on standby for such incidents during this tournament.


The rest of the battle itself just faded from his focus, but eventually it seemed, it was only Rook and Noldar, the elf siblings, and one Dragonborn remaining; his teammate already knocked out from the arena. They shuffled around the edges of the stage, each team taking shots at each other trying to get someone to fall out, but for the last several minutes no one had gained an advantage.


Unfortunately, time had also faded from his focus. 


It was just as Noldar made one of the elfs, Gabrala, have to jump away from them and Rook shoved back the Dragonborn that the Lycanroc suddenly slumped forward, his paws catching himself onto all fours. Gabrala landed next to her brother as the Dragonborn paused in surprise too, before he lifted his sword to try and take a swing at them.


“Rook?!” He shouted out as he had to stab at the Dragonborn to stop him from pouncing on them. A growl was what he received in response, the Lycanroc’s fists clenched upon the ground and his body shaking under the Kobold. 


The shaking was something Noldar had gotten used to noticing as a sign…his head whipped up towards the sun as it was just vanishing behind the stands. 7pm...shit. This final battle had been going for the last hour!?


Knowing the situation, Noldar tried to only ask, “Will you be okay?” While he returned his stare back to the elfs and Dragonborns before them, crouched over the Lycanroc’s back with his spear held in one hand with the other gripping onto the wolf’s now chittering fur. 


“I-I…will…” Rook snarled though the sudden onset of lust that Noldar knew he was battling down. It was probably a good thing that the wolfman was on all fours, preventing those around from seeing the now straining bulge within the crotch of the Lycanroc’s pants. 


“It seems the red wolf has become quite fatigued!” the game master shouted out from his stand, his voice magically projected over the shouting roars of the stands. 


Rook snarled, his eyes glowing brightly as he suddenly lurched. His hips thrust forward into the air, the tightness of his own pants stimulated his now over sensitive cock as it was attempting to surge from its sheath, and his body just seemed to buck on its own in reaction. His motion made Noldar waver, pointing out his spear at all four of the other competitors that were now watching them in their own confusion. 


Rook growled, lifting his head up with his eyes closed but glowing bright as he held a grimace as he tried to fight back down the rising lust. The sight of this made the elf siblings in particular tense up, as they clutched their weapons and their eyes narrowed dangerously. If they hadn’t thought Rook cursed before, they might now…


Noldar understood why Rook couldn’t stand up though, to do so would probably make the obvious erection he knew was straining against his pants too obvious… 


Noldar leaned down to whisper into his ears. “Play with it…act savage and feral, charge them and let's get this done and over with.” 


Rook growled again and his entire body of fur clattered and shook once more, but he did as Noldar suggested, trying to play into his involuntary shivers of need as if he was going into some kind of feral state instead, crouching low on all fours while Noldar rode on his back. The onset of the curse and its sudden rise of lust passed by, but now Rook’s body continued to shake and quiver under the Kobold. 


“What is this?” the Dragonborn asked.


“What is going on with you…?” Gabrala asked herself then as well, as both of the opposing teams were now focused solely on Rook and Noldar. 


Rook snarled, shaking his head a little to clear out more of the rising fog of need that would only rapidly build back up, his eyes shining a bright purple glow as he tried to respond. “I…told you, Gabrala…all-all legends…have some b-bit of truth to them…” When he picked his head back up from looking down at the floor, that wide, manic grin had formed over his muzzle instead of the grimace they had seen before. This look with his eyes glowing suddenly made much of the roaring crowd fall silent around them, at least those that could see it.


It also made both Gabrala and Tre’andra’s eyes widen and then Rook let out a loud roar and pounced forward on all fours, running at the Dragonborn. Noldar held on tight while he held his spear out forward, as like a jouster, he and Rook barreled past the Dragonborn as he dived to the ground to the right to get out of Rook’s way. 


Rook’s claws dug into the stone like arena just a few feet after barreling past the Dragonborn, using his grip as an anchor tried to spin himself around, but he snarled as he suddenly lost that grip when his body simply disobeyed him and flopped, sliding the last few feet to end up on his side a little. Noldar shifted to avoid getting crushed and he shouted, “Rook!” 


The Lycan’s legs had thankfully fallen in such a way that they hid the obvious issue Rook was now battling against, but now the entire stadium had picked up his new state. “What has happened to the wolfman!? He now charges on all fours like some feral! Are we witnessing the true Red Beast?!”  


“Shut up!” Noldar pointed his spear up towards the standbox. 


“N-noldar…don’t…” Rook tried to tell him, but his own body was just disobeying him. Stimulation on his throbbing cock made his hips jerk oddly forward, even as he also tried to right himself back onto all fours. “L-let them think…whatever they want from it…just…need…” 


As he stumbled back up onto his paws, the Lycanroc’s manic grin returned and his eyes opened sharply to snap back onto the now prone Dragonborn in front of them. Rook’s mind was focused on two different things, grabbling between the two very different personalities that existed within him, but Rook was, for the moment, able to keep his control…


“Need to…win!” He shouted as he charged forward again at one of the still prone beastmen. Rook’s body collided with the Dragonborn’s making them grunt out as they were pushed, and Rook just kept going, grinding the dragon across the arena forcefully, closer and closer to the edge. Just before they reached it, Rook dug his hands under the Dragonborn’s body and then heaved him up into the air, tossing him off the edge of the arena. 


Rook flopped once more as the scaled beastman hit the ground outside the arena, stunned and groaning. Rook’s forearms laid flat under himself, panting with his head off to the side and his legs slightly kicking as again, his body was only focused on the need to hump…His entire body burned, his crotch tingled. It was so difficult to just not focus on how absolutely hard he was, the constant sensation of rubbing against the inside of his pants…there was nothing but the ache burning in his crotch for the few scant moments after he had flopped, even as Noldar shouted in his ears again.


But he couldn’t regain control over himself enough, and Noldar was too focused and worried about him, that he didn’t notice the two elves had ran after them, and they both ran up behind the wolfman to both plant a foot on his big body and then- 


Both Rook and Noldar tumbled out onto the ground outside the arena. Noldar’s spear clattered out from his hand as he rolled off the Lycanroc’s backside. 


Rook growled out, “No…grrrrrrrrr” rolling onto his front on the ground, of course to continue hiding his condition, both he and Noldar glanced up at Gabrala and Tre’andra as the elf siblings stared down at them.


The stands exploded into cheers and shouts, as the announcer’s voice shouted over them. “And we have our winners!” 


However, the elves’ eyes were focused down upon Noldar and Rook, even after the victory and the money that was about to be rewarded to them, in that moment the elves only had a focus for them. Their eyes spoke all the words they needed to. If not for how they were in such a crowded location, they’d have questions, but as they were instead ushered by the announcer, they turned and walked towards the middle of the stage amid the cheering crowd. 
 
There, Gabrala was handed a huge sack full of the prize money. By the time the elves had the chance to glance back to where Rook and Noldar had fallen out, they were gone. 


_____________________


Just after the elves had turned around, Noldar had quickly helped Rook to rise and they carefully had stepped their way out of the coliseum. The roaring cheers from within rang in one ear, while the growling snarls of the Lycanroc rumbled in the other. One of Rook’s paws gripped onto Noldar’s opposite shoulder, as Rook remained slightly slouched over, trying to  give his own arousal room within his pants as he had to stand up to walk with him. 


Noldar noticed the wolf’s cock bulge straining, the shape of the wolf’s length had slipped down the right pant leg. The fact that the wolf’s armor was made of leather made it so no obvious mark could show, but he could now smell the musk of precum coming off him. Envisioning the sheer mess of fluid that was drenching the wolf’s leg by this point only caused a shiver of his own to spread though his body, but Noldar tried to keep his own mind clear, he had to get Rook to the den first.


They walked across the streets of Au’rat with an odd stagger, with Rook letting out more desperate growls and suddenly bucking his hips forward. Noldar had gotten used to Rook’s lust filled state in his dens, but out here…the look on his face made his chest hurt. The Lycanroc was obviously desperately fighting back against the lust that filled his mind, his muzzle alternating from that wide grin and to frustrated frowns. He had told him he could hold it off for maybe another hour or so after it’s onset, but to watch him doing so was completely different. Where Noldar thought it might’ve been fun before…this was only painful.


Their pace was unfortunately slow, and every five or so minutes Rook suddenly fell forward onto all fours again with more snarling growls, his body shaking as he tried to keep his hips from jerking forward all over again. Although the streets were still somewhat empty with the contest having just finished, those that were in the streets watched on or noticed this strange behavior with odd looks. Each time seemed to hit the wolf harder, that fog building up within his mind that was slowly blocking out all rational thought aside for how needy he was.


On the fourth time this happened, just within sight of the gates to Au’rat, Rook hunched with his arms wrapped around his waist and claws gripping along his armor. His eyes had reached the point that his irises couldn’t be seen within their glow and that manic grin kept returning to his muzzle as his personalities battled against each other back and forth. 


“Noldar…don’t…let yourself…Ghahahaha!” Rook lurched forward with his hips thrusting into the air, catching himself again on all fours with his eyes wide. That grin remained on his muzzle while he let out a few heavy breaths, one of his paws grasping onto his own crotch as he let out another cackling laugh before managing to stammer out further, “Don’t…be seen…with me like this…” 


Noldar frowned next to the wolf and he looked around, noticing several people, humans and beastmen alike that were watching this latest breakdown. Even his own glaring didn’t stop them from looking, their stares of curiosity slowly turning to ones of derision and annoyance. They couldn’t even really tell the truth of the situation, Noldar thought, Rook could have very well have been just drunk or somewhat ill, but the wolfman’s own fur color was enough for them to think the worst right off the bat. It was no wonder the legend of the Red Beast flitted around like it did…if Rook happened to have moments like these in the past in the middle of crowded places. Noldar could only imagine what kinds of things actually came about when eventually the Lycanroc’s other, lust filled side took over completely.


“No, I’m certainly not going to just leave you alone now that you’re like this.” Noldar stated firmly. He wished he was stronger to let the addling wolf lean on him to stagger forward, but instead he had no choice but to wait for Rook to regain himself enough that they could walk forward again, the wolf again gripping his paw on the Kobold’s shoulder, and Noldar supporting only some of his weight as Rook stumbled with him, eventually passing the gates with the gateguards eyeballing them. 


_____________________




They only just barely made it over the final hillside that led to Rook’s den, as the eighth spat of lust hit him again and the Lycanroc stumbled, and, unable to stop himself, he just rolled down the hill in the sand. Noldar rushed after him in worry. When Rook finally came to a rest on his side, that manic grin was plastered on his muzzle again and he just laughed. “Hahaha!! Can’t…focus! Can’t…opennnnn!” Rook had held his paw up into the air towards the air holes in the sand, the yellow glow of his actual magic sputtering off and on. 


Noldar understood. The Lycanroc couldn’t control his power over the earth right then. He couldn’t open the entrance to the den. After so much time that had passed since the onset, the wolf was on his last strings of control. So there was only one thing for it. 


Noldar removed his armor quickly from behind the Lycanroc, got down onto all fours, and then called his name. 


Rook turned his head as he was panting on the ground towards the Kobold, Noldar felt a somewhat spike of apprehension in the way Rook suddenly shut his muzzle closed in mid pant, and his brightly glowing eyes had widened as they took in the way Noldar presented his ass up to him, tail raised.    


“Gah! Fuck!” Noldar shouted out as Rook pounced him. In mad need, the Lycanroc’s hips bounced against the Kobold’s body, the fact that his pants were still on not even registering. 


“Wait! Wait!” Noldar tried to call out, he hadn’t thought Rook would be so lost to his need to even ignore opening up his pants! 


Rook just let out a whine, his arms quick to begin trying to wrap around the Kobold’s naked form. Frustrated need burned in him, it was all he could focus on, and now that Noldar had bared himself like that, it seemed as if something had snapped in his mind. That manic grin plastered on his muzzle, he panted heavily through whines of need. 


“Rook! STOP!” Noldar shouted, as he kicked himself out from under the Lycanroc. Rook slumped forward into the sand as he tried to grasp after the Kobold, his paws unable to properly grasp onto him. 


Noldar stood up, the evening sun was just dipping down behind the sandy hills of the desert plains. Scales glistening with sweat, he didn’t even notice his own excitement now half out of his slit from being so eagerly mounted. “You’ve got to at least take off your own pants!”


Rook growled out in frustration as he picked himself up, though now, his paws were quick to reach towards the belt of his pants and began trying to undo it, but his arms had also begun shaking, fumbling with the latch. The bulge of his cock pulsed visibly within his pant leg now, and around the wolfman’s ankle his fur was dripping with precum. In this brief moment of focus, Rook’s eyes were half narrowed and his muzzle set into a hard grimace, but more whines kept slipping past his lips as his paws continued to fumble with the belt’s buckle.


Noldar realized the Lycanroc’s level of control was only steadily slipping away more and more now, and so he stepped forward and knelt, slipping Rook’s hands away his own took over and easily undid the latch and then pulled it off his pants, and then pulled them open himself. Rook shuddered and his eyes closed again as some sense of relief was allowed to his cock.


The Kobold had to pause a moment as the sheer mask of scent was freed from the wolf’s pants, and his eyes took in the throbbing red wolfhood, still stuck down the one pant leg by its own girth, the thick knot already swollen up in desperate need to release and only agonizingly teased by the clothing. He pulled on the pants to tug them down slowly, until the rest of the shaft was able to suddenly spring free fully, flinging precum up to splatter across Noldar’s chest and face. 


That manic grin had returned to the Lycanroc’s muzzle, but Noldar held onto the control he now had on the situation by immediately kneeling down and taking Rook’s cock into his mouth, easily sliding down halfway for it to dive down the back of his throat, feeling the first hard throb fire across his lips and tongue. Rook’s balls jumped, already having that reddish hue to them, after nearly a full hour after the onset of his lust, the wolf was ready to explode.


Noldar gripped both hands onto Rook’s throbbing knot and that was all it took. The wolf lifted his head up and let out a loud howl that Noldar had no doubt much of Au’rat heard, before he felt the cock in his mouth twitch hard several times, the first hard blast of cum coating the inside of his throat moments after and he blushed, closing his eyes as he dutifully drained Rook’s balls of their over churned seed. 


What Noldar didn’t really expect, given this was the first time he’d seen Rook so far deep into his curse, though the constant amount of cum that was now being pumped into his belly was quick to make him worry, he already felt full. By the time Rook’s orgasms had normally ended, at least in the last week he’d known the wolfman, he was still pumping, those balls still bouncing in their sack as they drained into him. A full minute in, Noldar’s gut started to swell as he kept gulping it down…


Another minute and a half later, finally, the wolf’s cock started to slow, the thick spurts firing into his gut thinned, and Rook took in a deep, shuddering breath, his glowing eyes closing and his paws flexing into fists. And then just a few seconds after that, the thickly throbbing knot in between his hands suddenly deflated rapidly, and Rook pulled his hips back, letting his steadily shrinking length pop free of Noldar’s mouth soon after. 


Noldar coughed and one of his hands rubbed at his swollen gut as he leaned back, his own cock now grabbing his attention for itself as it throbbed and drooled precum down the underside of itself. 


But then he heard the shifting of the sand next to them, looking up to see Rook with his hand reached out and glowing yellow towards the entrance of his den. Rook watched Noldar, the glow in his eyes had faded completely already, with a warm smile over his muzzle. 


“Thank you…Noldar…” Rook rumbled, and he held out a paw. Noldar smiled back and he held onto the offered hand, and grunted as he stood back up. His gut felt so full…


“I would bet you’d like a moment of your own.” Rook chuckled, and he pulled Noldar up off the sand and then hefted him to carry him in his arms bridal style, “But after everything I just fed you, I think it best that you just rest.”


Indeed, even as excited as he felt, there was a distinct sense of dreariness that also came over the kobold and he nodded, blushing a little as he was being carried like he was, and Rook turned to start down the etched set of stairs down into the wolf’s den. He stayed quiet as he was carried down, his mind repeating the last several hours as exhaustion snuck up on him. 


___________________________


Noldar fell asleep shortly after, and Rook set the kobold snug within their bedroll, the kobold’s gut still swollen from the amount of seed that Rook had given him. Rook decided to skip dinner that night, since the kobold had fallen asleep. Rook believed the stress of the last few hours in taking care of him had overloaded Noldar’s senses. He started a fire and just sat to think about what had happened.


And now being the only one awake, it allowed Rook the opportunity to be upset…they had lost the tournament. The onset of his curse had cost them the chance to make a lot of money, and now many people of Au’rat were going to be wary of them. Even though he hadn’t completely broken down in the middle of the city, he had no doubt that, like other times it’d happened in the past, that rumors were already circulating in the taverns. It was time to return home and let things here cool down…  


But it hopefully was not all bad. They’d placed second…and regardless of the strange behavior he’d exhibited, he knew it’d gain them some notoriety.


Rook looked up through the holes of the den to the stars glittering in the sky above. Today hadn’t gone anywhere near as well as he had wanted it to, but at least it hadn’t ended horribly too. Rook rose from the fire and joined Noldar in the bedroll to sleep. 


Two things were going on that Rook was not quite aware of, the first was Noldar’s dreams; trapped in a cage, a key clattered to the ground next to him. In their sleep, the Koblad snickered. The key was inserted into the lock, and twisted, and for a short moment, the Kobold’s orange scales turned pure black, before the dream faded and he was back to his normal orange shade…


The second, their presence shielded by their own magics, two pairs of elven eyes were staring at the holes in the sandy ground at the top of the hill in the night, staring silently at the glowing holes the still going fire below created for several minutes before they turned back towards the city.


While today may have been ‘normal’ the future would most certainly become abnormal…